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Kiss of the King

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A gentle kiss from a loved one is a beautiful thing. It is a sweet expression of endearment, a symbol of one person’s affection for another. The moviegoer in all of us is always thrilled when the long-awaited moment arrives, when two hearts finally come together through the tender expression of a kiss.

Not so long ago, I read about a couple who shared a very special kiss. The story, in Brennan Manning’s book, Ragamuffin Gospeldescribes a rather solemn scene between a surgeon and a young couple. A young woman is lying in the recovery room after a procedure to remove a tumor from her cheek. Unfortunately, the surgery severed a facial nerve and her lips are permanently skewed as a result. In a tender moment of acceptance, her husband bends down and repositions his lips to meet hers with precision. The physician witnesses their exchange and recognizes it as a God moment.

Since reading this story, the image of the young husband contorting his mouth and twisting his lips for an intimate kiss with his palsied wife has gripped my heart.

I thought about how God symbolically did the very same thing for us when He fashioned Himself in the form of flesh and became “man” through the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

What a love story. The God of the universe bent down from Heaven, leaned toward mankind, and expressed His love to a very disfigured people.

He contorted Himself (so to speak) in order to manifest His vast love to a fallen generation.

“For God so loved the World, that He gave His only begotten Son, ...” ( )

How do we respond to such a beautiful expression of genuine love to handicapped humanity? We respond by recognizing we were created from the clay of the earth, by the hand of the Great Potter Himself.

In His foreknowledge, He knew we would become marred; and afterward, we would be in need of His unconditional love.

What is our response?

We simply receive the gracious gift of love, and allow Him to mold and make us into His beautiful image. The following poem seems to sum it up very well:

Our Sovereign King is so pleased
When with gladness He sees
His likeness brought forth
By His kisses received

If you have never known the unconditional love of this King, He wants you to know that His desire has always been toward you and that even now, He longs for your response. Most importantly, He wants you to know that His kiss still works.

Don’t wait another moment. Come and receive the “Kiss” of the King.

Copyright © Missey Butler, used with permission.

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About The Author

Missey
Butler

Missey Butler is a freelance writer and contributor to CBN.com.

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